Los Angeles, CA – In early 2014 there was hope that undocumented parents would be able to be protected against deportation, when President Obama issued an executive order to create Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Deferred Action for Children Arrivals, also known as DAPA/DACA. In 2014, 26 Republican governors, led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, filed a lawsuit in federal court that blocked its implementation. The Obama administration filed a speedy appeal challenging the Republican-led lawsuit. The U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in April and issue a ruling in June 2016. Millions of people will be are anxiously watching this ruling. Centro CSO plans to continue fighting for Deferred Action and legalization for all in the East Side of Los Angeles.

This January members of the Boyle Heights community group Centro CSO gathered to start the New Year fighting against deportations and in favor of Deferred Action. Knocking door-to-door, flyering outside of churches and taking to the streets, members of Centro CSO obtained many petition signatures in support of Deferred Action.

Centro CSO is a grassroots community-based organization that fights for equality for Mexicans, Chicanos and Latinos in the Boyle Heights area.

On Jan. 20, Centro CSO organized a successful first meeting for the year, in the heart of Boyle Heights. Plans for 2016 include a March 5 action to pressure the U.S. Supreme court for a favorable ruling on Deferred Action. Chicano activist Carlos Montes, arrested in the 1968 ELA walkouts, called on the meeting to unite and make plans for a large march and rally on May 1 in the heart of Boyle Heights to demand legalization for all and equality for Chicanos and Latinos.

Boyle Heights has a long history of resistance and mass marches against attacks. In 1994 over 150,000 people, mostly Latinos, marched in the heart of Boyle Heights to protest California proposition 187 that would have criminalized the undocumented.

Last year’s Central American refugee crisis shines a light on how the U.S.’s lack of immigration reform and a fair refugee policies causes suffering for Central Americans. The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement began deportation proceedings of Central Americans who have been denied political asylum. Central Americans may be granted political asylum but they must file an application and prove their case. However Mexicans are not eligible for political asylum and to avoid arrest by ICE take the dangerous routes to cross the U.S. border. They face death crossing dangerous desert terrain and violence on the border. Racist attacks continue against the undocumented and are being promoted by politicians like billionaire Donald Trump.

“Deferred Action for Parents of Americans will open the doors to many parents who have been in the shadows for years,” says Maria Ocampo of Centro CSO. “The parents who day after day fight for a dream. They deserve the right to live with no fear of being deported. No more separation of families!”

“A new year means a new victory left to fight for and win,” Says Sol Marquez another member of Centro CSO. “While Trump and other politicians running for U.S. president are busy trying to fool us, deportations continue. And while many organizations would push the undocumented aside, in Boyle Heights we’re trying to organize them to fight back! DAPA would mean protection against deportations for thousands of undocumented immigrants.”

Centro CSO has monthly organizing meetings. If you would like to get involved call 323-943-2030 or email centrocso@gmail.com. If you would like to sign the online DAPA petition click here: https://centrocso.wordpress.com/l-a-support-legalization-for-all-now-sign-the-petition/

#LosAngelesCA #ChicanoLatino #CentroCSO #deferredAction #DACADeferredActionForChildhoodArrivals #deferredActionForAll

Tampa, FL – Two dozen people gathered at the store La Mexicana, Feb. 23, demanding Texan Federal District Judge Andrew Henan lift his block on Deferred Action.

Alicia Gazga of Raíces en Tampa was leading the crowd in chants like, “Hey Henan, stop the delay! We want DAPA for all, today!” and “No more deportations! We want liberation!”

Last week, Hanen’s decision stopped the expansion of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which was set to start Feb. 18. The block may even delay the start of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) which was supposed to begin in mid-May.

Raíces en Tampa initiated the emergency action to protest Henan's actions against immigrants. Members of the Tampa Light Brigade, Student Farm-worker Alliance, the Tampa Committee to Stop FBI Repression and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society were also present to express their solidarity.

Daisy Garcia, a student at the University of South Florida attended her first Raíces en Tampa event and said, “We are all standing together with signs that reflect our demands, but each of us also shares a common purpose. This purpose is to stand against those who oppress us. We have to fight for our rights and demand that not one more person be deported.”

“We as Raíces en Tampa decided to do this emergency action because it is necessary,” said Norberto Gazga of Raíces en Tampa. “We can't keep having politicians playing with people's lives. While the politicians decide whether or not to pass a piece of legislation, more immigrant families keep getting divided! We need DAPA and DACA! We need legalization for all!”

While the delays to DACA and DAPA continue, we should also stick with local demands against deportations and for driver's licenses. The state of Florida is among the many states which still do not allow an undocumented immigrant the ability to obtain a driver's license. If an immigrant is pulled over more than three times for driving without a license, they could face a felony charge or a deportation.

The crowd ended with Catherine Lim and Matt Hastings of Raíces en Tampa handing out flyers about the upcoming rally against Tampa City Council. The flyer includes a photo of Tampa City Council member Yolie Capin with the word “liar” written across her portrait. Raíces en Tampa met in 2014 with all but one city council member. During each meeting, Raíces en Tampa asked each member to support a resolution for licenses. Because of the positive feedback each council member had given Raíces en Tampa, they decided to put the resolution up for a vote. But when the vote was presented, all of the City Council members who had met with Raíces en Tampa lied and said they had never met with any of them. Capin is among the liars and she, like the other council members, is up for re-election.

“Our rally will not only spotlight these lies, but demand from the city council exactly what the title of our rally is: 'Stop lying, support licenses!'” said Alicia Gazga. “We hope to see everyone come out on Thursday and that everyone is just as angry with city council as we are!”

To RSVP to the event via facebook go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/807926392632953/ To sign the petition supporting licenses being issued to the undocumented, go here: https://raicesentampa.wordpress.com/sign-the-dl4all-petition/

Marisol Márquez a member of Raíces en Tampa and a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #deferredAction

In the first four years of the Obama administration, there were as many deportations of undocumented immigrants as in the eight years of Bush. Deportations under Obama are now on track to hit 2 million by the end of this year.

While the Obama administration claims that this crackdown is necessary to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), it is pretty clear that the bipartisan CIR is dead for now. There is no bipartisan House bill, with the Republicans who were working with Democrats on a bill backing out. The federal government is partially shut down – not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) repression though – and the gap between the Democrats and Republicans has never been wider. With the upcoming debt ceiling limit looming, Washington D.C. is all about the budget, not immigration reform.

The Obama administration is also claiming that it is focusing on criminals. But most of those deported have committed no crime. In addition, hundreds of thousands of undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children, and even more parents of undocumented children, have been deported, tearing apart families.

ICE is also doing another round of workplace audits, the so-called ‘silent raids’ that can force the firing of thousands of undocumented workers. While they are not deported, they are driven further underground. Further, their chances of legalization under a future CIR bill could be harmed, in that the current CIR calls for a continuous work record, which won’t exist for undocumented forced to work totally off the books and under the table.

There is a growing demand in the Chicano, Mexicano, Central American and Latino communities for the president to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to all undocumented. Why is the government deporting people who might be eligible to legalize under a future immigration reform bill?

Ultimately, what is needed is legalization for all undocumented. But with no legalization law on the horizon, partial steps such as Deferred Action would help the undocumented. They would be able to work legally and would not be subject to ICE raids. Deferred Action also doesn’t have all of the bad elements of the Senate CIR bill, which would further militarize the border, increase workplace repression, reduce family reunification and end the diversity visa program that brings in about half the immigrants from Africa.

There are shortcomings to Deferred Action. While some states are trying to deny those receiving DACA driver's licenses, many others would allow them to drive. Those on Deferred Action would still not eligible for Medicaid or federal subsidies for health insurance under the new Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). And of course there is always the possibility that a new administration would even target those on Deferred Action for future deportation.

But by allowing the undocumented to come out of the shadows, they would not only benefit personally, but the movement would have a stronger basis to press for full legalization. The editors of Fight Back! support the growing demand for Deferred Action for All as a practical way to push back against the tsunami of deportations that is happening right now.

#UnitedStates #deportations #governmentShutdown #deferredAction #comprehensiveImmigrationReform #legalizationForAll #DACA #driversLicences

Immigration lawyer and National Lawyers Guild member Rachel Lang explained the details of the new policy that President Obama announced on June 15. The deferred action policy is not a new law and does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship for immigrant youth. Nor is it the DREAM Act. It’s simply a new temporary policy and this president or the next president could change or cancel it at any moment. But despite the limitations of the policy, it’s the first substantive motion toward legalization and away from repression against immigrants since the amnesty that Congress and President Reagan approved in 1986. President Obama announced this new policy under pressure from undocumented immigrant youth protesting and occupying his campaign offices in several cities across the country demanding that he take action.

Rachel Lang explained that to qualify for this new policy, a person needs to have come to the U.S. when they were under 16 years old, they have to have lived here for five years, they have to be in high school, have a high school degree or be pursuing a GED or have a GED. They also have to not have been convicted of several types of crimes and must not be considered a threat to “national security.” There are many different particular situations and many details of the new policy that are still unknown because the specific rules and the application forms won’t come out until mid-August.

Emilia, a representative NAVIGATE, also spoke at the event. NAVIGATE is a group organized by immigrant youth to help other immigrant youth overcome barriers to staying in school and to help them apply to and get into college. She said that this new policy comes after many years of collective struggle by immigrant youth and this shows that collectivity and organization are the keys to winning victories in the struggle. She also emphasized that this is only the first step and that the community needs to get more organized to continue the struggle for permanent legalization for youth who qualify for the two-year deferred action, and also to fight for legalization for their parents and the rest of the community who doesn’t qualify for deferred action.

Israel Esquivel of the Mexican consulate also spoke at the workshop about the services that the consulate has for people from the Mexican community applying for deferred action.

William Martinez, a MIRAc member who helped organize the forum, said, “We’re happy that a lot of people came to learn about this new policy. We’re going to keep working with the community to inform everyone. The struggle continues to stop deportations, not just of students but also of their parents and families. We hope everyone will participate to continue educating and mobilizing our community and our allies. That’s how we’ll win.”

#RichfieldMN #MIRAc #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommittee #DREAMAct #undocumentedImmigrants #deferredAction